Indian minister resigns after arrest over 'fake degree'

Official's arrest for allegedly fabricating law degree exposes disputes between Delhi state government and ruling party.

09 Jun 2015 19:15 GMT

Tomar sent his resignation letter from jail after the Delhi court remanded him to four days in police custody [Delhi.gov.in]

An Indian minister in the Delhi state government has resigned hours after police arrested him on suspicion of fabricating his law degree, sparking accusations of political interference by the country's ruling party.

Jitendra Singh Tomar, who held a number of portfolios in the Delhi government, including justice, appeared in court earlier in the day to be formally charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.

Tomar sent his resignation letter from jail after the Delhi court remanded him to four days in police custody, the Press Trust of India reported.

"Tomar... sent his resignation to the Chief Minister a while back. And the Chief Minister has accepted the resignation," deputy Delhi chief minister Manish Sisodia said, according to PTI.

Delhi police said Tomar, who denies the charges, had been arrested following a complaint from the Bar Council of Delhi.

"Based on the investigations and prima facie evidence, a case was filed against Tomar and he was arrested for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy," police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.

The arrest has exposed a power struggle between the Delhi government led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost elections in India's capital earlier this year.

The federal government controls the Delhi police force as well as some of the city's bureaucracy.Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accused it of trying to undermine his administration, including by blocking appointments of senior bureaucrats.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Tomar's arrest was part of the national government's "pressure tactics".

"The Delhi police commissioner and the Modi government are trying to scare us with such tactics," he said, referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.